Dedenting machine for closed end containers



Oct. 14, 1952 E. c. KRADOSKA DEDENTING MACHINE FOR CLOSED END CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 22, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Z l /R W Edu/ frag/05%? /O 0 B r 4t-farne] Oct. 14, 1952 E. c. KRADQSKA 2,613,721

DEDENTING MACHINE FOR CLOSED END CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 22, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Figi.

IN VEN TOR.

Ost. 14, 1952 E. c. KRAQosKA 2,613,721

DEDENTING NAcEiNE EoR cLosED END CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 22,-1949 4 sheets-shewI 3 .f1-f I- g v E IN V EN TOR.

Oct. 14, 1952 E. C, KRADosKA 2,613,721

DEDENTING MCHINE FOR CLOSED END CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 22, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 [p l, a4,

IN V EN TOR.

Patented Oct. 14, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE DEDENTING MACHINE FOR CLOSED END CONTAINERS Edward C. Kradoska, Melrose Park, Pa.

Application November 22, 1949, Serial No. 128,811

My invention relates,` to a de-denting machine of the type used for removing dents, bumps and other .deformations fromthe body or from the body bulges of metal drums.

One object of the invention vis to produce an improved machine of this type.

When a metal drum is operi at either end thereof, the `dents and bumps referred to are removed by means of apparatus which includes an inner roll which is' inserted through the open end of the drum so as' to engage the inner side of the portion of thedrum to be rolled, and an outer roll which registers with the inner roll and engages the outer side of the portion of the drum to be rolled. Such apparatus, however, can not be used on drums that have both of their ends closed. I y

It is therefore la `further object of the invention to producean limp rfoved body roller which can be effectively used'for removingr dents and bumps from the body 'and from the body bulges of a drum whichis closedatv both of its ends.

A still further'objectis to produce an improved rolling machine whichwautomatically'adjusts itself to drums the` body bulges of which areeat varying distances from the ends or from' ther center of the drum. n

A still further object Ais to produce an improved machine of thetype set forth which is substantially automaticl or which lends itself-to substantially automatic operation.

These and other objects are attainedvbymy invention as set forth in the following specilication and as shown invthefaccompanying drawings inwhich:

Figi is a View, partly in vertical section and partly in front elevation, of a rollingmachine embodying my invention, `certain parts being omitted and the machinebeing shown in nonoperating position.

Fig. 2 is similar to'Fg.` 1 but shows the machine in operating position.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic top plan view illustrating the structure and operation of certain of the parts which could not` be adequately shown in Figs. 1 and 2- l v Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical sectional view showing details of construction.

Fig. 5 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary view showing the manner of operationY fv Fig. 6 is an enlarged view looking in tion of line 6-6 on Fig. 3.

The rolling machine illustrated includes a housing formed of a bottom wall I0, a back wall II, end walls I2, and a top wall I3. The front the direcof the machine is left open but is adapted to be closed by doors I4 in a manner and for a purpose hereinafter set forth. The back wall Il and the doors I4 are curved, as best shown in Figure'S, so as compactly to accommodate a drum I5 formed with a body I6 and with upper and lower body bulges I8 and I9. r

The housing is suitably supported on a base or pedestal 20, only a part of which is shown in Fig. 1. Keyed to the pedestal 20, as at 2|, is a threaded stem 22, which extends through a threaded sleeve 23 rotatably mounted on the pedestal 20. The sleeve 23 is rotated by means of a motor 24 which drives a bevel gear 25 which meshes with a gear 26 carried by the sleeve 23. The motor 24 is energized or de-energized by means of a conventional switch not shown. By this arrangement, when the sleeve 23 is turned in one direction the threaded stem 22 will move upwardly and vice versa.

The upper portion of the stem 22 is provided with a shoulder 29, which shoulder supports a hub 30 in a manner to be vertically movable with the stem. The hub 30 rotatably supports a platform 32 which is adapted to support a drum I5, as shown in Fig. l. Suitable anti-friction bearings 33 are interposed between the platform 32 and the hub 30. By this construction, the platform 32 is freely 'rotatable relative to the hub 30 and the upper end 3l of the stem 22 regardless of the position of the hub and regardless of whether the hub is in vertical motion or not.`

Above the drum I5 I provide a plate 36 which is secured to the lower end of a hollow shaft which passes through a fixed thrust-bearing 4|. The shaft 40 and the plate 36 are movable vertically relative to the bearing 4I and are normally biased downwardly by means of springs 42 placed between the thrust bearing 4I and the plate 36 as best shown in Fig. 1. The shaft 40 is rotated by means of a driven pinion 44 which engages a gear 45 carried by the shaft, it being noted the length of the pinion is greater than the thickness of the gear 45 so that engagement is maintained between the gear 45 and the pinion 44 as the plate 36 and the shaft 40 are moved between their upper and lower portions. See Figs. 1 and 2. The worm 44 is driven by any suitable electric motor, not shown, and it is intended that the shaft 40 and the plate 36 shall be rotated continuously as long as the machine is in use.

The plate 36 is provided with a pendent driving and'sealing ring-gasket 48 which, when the @1.111121 is raised, is adapted to engage the upper end wall 49 of the drum, so as to rotate the drum upon rotation of the plate 38 and the shaft 40. The ring gasket 48 also ccacts with the plate 36 and the end wall 49 of the drum to form a chamber 5i! which communicates with the interior of the drum through the usual bung hole 52. A flexible pipe 54, leading from a source of compressed air, not shown, delivers air through hollow shaft 4D into thevchamber 50. See Figs. 1 and 4.

The machine illustrated further includes a pair of upper rollers 55 and a pair of lower rollers 55, for rolling corresponding portions of the body I6 of the drum. The upper rollers 55 are provided with circular grooves 57 for rolling the upper body bulges i8 and the lower rollers 5G are provided with similar grooves 58 for rolling the lower body bulges i9 of the drum. See Figs. 1 and 5.

The rollers 55 and 58 are freely rotatable on uprights 69 and are actuated into or out of engagement with the drum by means of suitable linkage BI and a double acting air cylinder G2. The air cylinder 62 and the linkage 6i connecting it to the uprights 65 are conventional and, hence, are not shown nor described in de tail. It is sufficient to state that, when compressed air is admitted, intothe cylinder 8,2,.in one manner, the rolls 55 and 56 are moved to the broken line vposition of Fig. 3 in which they engage the drum, andvice versa.

In most cases, the body bulges I8 and I9 on the .f

drums are so located that, when the drum is raised into engagement with the ring gasket 48, thebody bulges will register with the circular grooves 51 and 58. But, in order to adapt the machine for use on drums the body bulges of which are located at various distances from the end walls of the drum, I provide means whereby the rolls 55 and 55 will automatically hunt and move up or down so as to bring the circular grooves 5'1 and 58 into registration with body bulges. To this end the rolls 55 and 56 are supported by springs 54 and are provided with spiral vgrooves 55 and 65, respectively, which spiral grooves extend above and below, and communicate with, the circular grooves 57 and 58, respectively, as best shown in Figs. l and 5. It will be understood that the rolls 55 and 56 are freely slidable vertically on the uprights so that, if the'upper body bulge I8, for example, should be belowthe circular groove 5l. it will engage the portion of the spiral groove 65 which is below the circular groove 5l in the rolls 55, as shown in theupper portion of Fig. 5', and vice versa. Likewise, if the body bulge I9 happens to be higher than the circular groove 5i) of the rolls 56, it will engage the portion of the spiral groove 66 which is above the circula-i` groove 58, and Ivice versa. In any event, the engagement of the body bulges of the rotating drum with the spiral grooves 55 .or 65, of the freely rotating and freely, vertically, slidable rolls 55 and 55, will result in raising or in lowering these rolls, as the case may be, until the ciroulargrooves 5l and 58 of these rolls register with and are engaged by the respective body bulges I8 and I9.

In order accurately to center the drum, I provide three inverted conical rolls 'I0 which are freely rotatable about stub shafts 'I2 the axes of which are equidistant from the axisof the shaft 4I.) and from the axis of the stem 22. The downward movement of the rolls 'I0 is limited by pins or stops 'I4 and their upward movement is opposed by springs 'l5 conned between the conical members and a shoulder 'I6 formed on the stub shafts l2. As will be best seen from Fig. 4, the

rolls 'IU are so positioned that, as the drum is move upwardly, its upper edge rides on the upwardly flaring surfaces o f these rolls and the drum is thus centered. It will be noted that the rolls 'l0 are engaged by the upper edge of the drum after the drum has been engaged with, and set in motion by, the ring gasket 48. The rotation of the drum while its upper edge is moving4 upwardly on the surfaces of the rolls 'I0 facilitates the centering of the drum.

In order to limit the downward movement of the drum and thus avoid breakage which may result if the motor 24 continued to operate after the parts have reached a predetermined low posit-ion, I provide a normally closed switch 88 which is connected to the motor 24 by wires 8|. This switch is located at the desired point below the platform 32 so that when the platform 32 has reached a predetermined low position, such as that shown in Fig. 1, the platform 32 will engage and open the switch to de-energize the motor 24. Likewise, for limiting the upward movement of the drum I provide a normally closed switch 82 which is also connected to the motor 24 by wires 83. This switch is located above the platform 3'8 so that, when the drum moves this platform upwardly, against the action of springs 42, the switch 82 will be engaged and opened by the platformv 36 to de-energize the motor 24. The switch 82 is so located relative to the upper side of the plate 36 that it is opened only after the ring gasket 48 and the springs 42 have been somewhat compressed thus assuring adequate engagement between the upper end of the drum and the ring gasket before the upward movement of the drum is arrested.

The doors I4 are carried by uprights 85 which are hinged, as at 86, to front extensions 87 of the sidewalls I2 of the housing, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The doors I4 are moved to the closed position which is shown in solid lines in Fig. 2 and in broken lines in Fig. 3, or to the open position shown in solid lines in Fig. 3, by means of an air cylinder 88 which moves a rack 89 to rotate a gear 9o on one end of a shaft 9| which also carries vgears 92 which mesh with gears 93 on theuprights 85. The air cylinder 88 and its manner of operation are conventional and hence are not shown nor described in detail. It is sufcient to say that when compressed air is admitted into the cylinder 88, in one way, the doors are moved to 'closing position and vice versa. l

'I'he operation is as follows:

The shaft 49 set in motion to rotate the plate 36, the drum to be rolled is placed on platform 32 and motor 24 is energized to raise the drum into engagement with the driving and sealing ring gasket 48, the drum being centered by contact with roll 10, if such centering be necessary. Dur ing upward movement of the drum, compressed air is admitted into cylinder 88 to close the doors I4 and, substantially simultaneously, compressed air is admitted into the interior of the drum through pipe 54, shaft 40 and bung hole 52. As the air pressure within the drum reaches a predetermined degree, compressed air is admitted into air cylinder 62 to move rolls 55 and 56 into engagement with the drum with the desired degree ofpressure. When the rolls 55 and 56 enn gage the drum, the circular grooves 5l and 58 will register, in most cases, with the body bulges I8 and I9 to be rolled, and in other cases, the upper or lower portions of the spiral grooves 65 and 66 will engage the body bulges and will move the rolls 55 and 56 up, or down, as may be necessary, to bring the circular grooves into alignment with the body bulges.

After the drum has been rolled the prescribed number of times, the air cylinder 62 is activated to move the rolls 55 and 56 out of engagement with the drum; the air is exhausted from the drum; the motor 24 is activated to lower the drum, and as the drum moves to its lower position, the air cylinder 88 is activated to open the doors I4.

The operations listed, in direct or in inverse order, can be carried out manually but if it is desired to make the operation automatic, suitable timing and relay devices of any well known design can be used. For example, when hydraulic or pneumatic means are used, pressure sensitive devices can be employed for carrying out the operations in their proper sequence. When mechanical or electro-mechanical means are employed, suitable relays, timers, cams, etc. can be used. Since the various control mechanisms mentioned are available, and since the manner in which they should be installed and connected is indicated, it is not necessary to show or describe the same in detail. Also, the machine may be mounted horizontallyv instead of vertically and automatic conveyor means can be added for delivering the drum to be rolled to the machine and for removing the rolled drum from the machine.

Since the sole purpose of the compressed air isto create the desired pressure within the drum to resist the action of the rollers 56 and 55, it is obvious that a fluid pressure other than air pressure can be used, such for example, as water or oil or any other liquid pressure.

What I claim is:

1. A rolling machine including a rst end plate, means for rotating said irst end plate, a second end plate aligned with said rst end plate, means for mounting said second end plate for free rotation about the axis of rotation of said iirst end plate, said plates being spaced apart so as to receive a drum to be rolled therebetween with the end walls of said drum in a position to be engaged by said plates respectively, driving means for moving said second end plate toward -said iirst end plate to clamp said drum between said end plates, a freely rotatable roll having a body portion for rolling a body portion of the drum and having a circular groove for rolling a body bulge on the drum, means for creating a predetermined iiuid pressure Within the drum, and means for bringing said roll into engagement with the drum With'a predetermined pressure,

2. The structure recited in claim 1 together with means responsive to the movement of the drum to a predetermined point in the direction of said seco-nd end plate for deactivating the said driving means.

3. The structure recited in claim 1 together with means responsive to the movement of the drum to a predetermined point in the direction of said first plate :for deactivating the said driving means.

4. The structure recited in claim 1 together with yielding means urging said iirst plate toward said second plate.

5. The structure recited in claim 1 in which said roll is mounted for free movement longitudinally of the drum.

6. The structure recited in claim 5 in which said roll has spiral grooves formed therein which communicate with said circular groove and extend in the direction of the axis of rotation of said roll.

7. The structure recited in claim 1 in which said second plate constitutes a platform on which the drum to be rolled is placed, and in which the first plate is positioned above said second plate and is engaged by the upper end of the drum upon vertical movement of the second plate.

8. The structure recited in claim ltogether with a casing enclosing said drum and having one end thereof open, a door for closing said open end, and means for moving said door to one position in which it closes said open end of said casing and to another position in which it does not close said open end of said casing.

9. A rolling machine including a first end plate, means for rotating said first end plate, a second end plate aligned with said first end plate, means for mounting said second end plate for free rotation about the axis of rotation of said irst end plate, said plates being spaced apart soas to receive a drum to be rolled there between with the end Walls of said drum in a position to be engaged by said plates respectively, driving means for moving said second end plate toward said iirst end plate to clamp said drum between said end plates, a freely rotatable roll having a body portion for rolling a body portion of the drum and having a circular groove for rolling a body bulge on the drum, and means for bringing said roll into engagement with the drum with a, predetermined pressure. EDWARD C. KRADOkSKA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

